They said ensuring the safety and security of the community is the highest priority of Government.

The statement said the issue of crime is, therefore, a primary concern and this concern is heightened by the fact that criminal activity in the BVI carries the risk of negatively impacting the foundations of the Territory’s economy.

It said given these stakes, the Government is resolved to applying every available resource to reduce crime to an absolute minimum.

The Governor and Chief Minister said it is the policy of the Government that there is no such thing as “acceptable” levels of criminal activity and have decided to put a strategy in place to combat criminality through a three-tiered approach:

• Deterrence through effective policing with emphasis on community police partnership.
• Detection and punishment through vigorous investigations and prosecutions of all law-breakers.
• Prevention through education and civic leadership.

They claim that, on all three of these fronts, work is currently underway to improve the Territory’s crime fighting capacity and progress has been made across the board.  But, as recent high-profile incidents have demonstrated, there is still much room for improvement.

Both officials say this statement should be taken as a snapshot of a set of initiatives, some of which have been launched, some of which are about to begin, and others which are in development.

‘Taken together, these initiatives will significantly improve the ability of the community to reduce crime, and will bring us all a step closer to our shared goal of a safer and more secure BVI,’ the statement said.

The statement said law-breakers in the BVI must know that when they commit a crime, they are likely to pay the consequences.

The statement said it is critical that the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) operate at a world-class level and in order to meet that mandate, the following initiatives are underway, in development or under consideration:

 Key new personnel are being brought on-board to RVIPF, including:
A new Deputy Commissioner starting 1 March; A new Management Service Advisor starting 1 April; Plans are in place to bring on a new Training Coordinator; Work is underway to review police pay with a view to ensuring that compensation is adequate to attract the best and brightest to law enforcement; Consideration is being given to update facilities over time throughout the Territory to improve command and control capabilities; Visa regimes have been put in place to improve the Territory’s ability to control the in-flow of individuals from countries that are statistically more likely to violate laws, including immigration laws; A recruitment drive is underway to bring in more high-quality young officers; UK-funded training efforts are underway to improve maritime surveillance; Work is in hand to update the Police Act to ensure that it meets today’s needs.

In addition to all these steps, it is understood that a primary imperative must be to foster better relations between the RVIPF and the community.  This relationship is the foundation of all law-enforcement efforts.